When the United States was faced with the reality of having a Soviet ally only 90 miles from its border, there were a number of proposals as to how we should deal with this issue. In 1961, Cuban exiles trained and armed by the CIA were sent into their home island to overthrow communist leader Fidel Castro. Most were killed or captured, and as a result, communist leadership depicted the United States as weak and ineffective. This prompted the Soviet Union to place nuclear MRBMs (medium range ballistic missiles) on the island of Cuba, much like the United States had missiles in Italy and Turkey that could easily hit Moscow. Once the Cuban Missile Crisis occurred, these missile sites were removed from Cuba, Italy, and Turkey.
Had the Cuban Missile Crisis never occurred, it is likely that America would have had a much tougher time relating to the Soviet Union, as this policy of brinkmanship and “mutually assured destruction” (M.A.D.) would escalate even further. The threat of a strike to mainland United States would remain, leading to further public unrest and dissent. However, it could also be argued that the Soviet Union might not have felt as threatened by their public loss. We see that despite Soviet promises to de-escalate the arms race, they continued developing stockpiles of nuclear weapons in secret. Had they not been challenged in Cuba, it is possible that they would have reacted differently, and they might not have squandered most of their resources on developing arms.
Another possibility is that the Washington-Moscow Hotline might never have been created. This direct form of communication between American and Soviet leadership was intended to prevent the escalation that was displayed during the Cuban Missile Crisis. This reduced the time it took for messages to be relayed from six hours to almost almost nothing. The Cuban government also might have maintained a stronger relationship with the Soviets, as they saw our compromises as a “selling out” of their alliance.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2012/07/10/what-was-at-stake-in-1962/
https://turkeywonk.wordpress.com/2012/11/04/turkeys-nuclear-missiles-an-important-player-in-the-cuban-missile-crisis/
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
How would Cuba have progressed if the Cuban missile crisis never occurred?
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